Agustin Aguayo, conscientious objector and war resister sentenced to 8 months and finally free and his wife and partner, Helga, need your help!
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On
November 5, 2007, Agustin was represented in The Supreme Court
petitioning the court to recognize him as a conscientious objector.
Agustin's legal battles continue. Agustin now awaits if the Supreme
Court will take his case. He has been fighting to be discharged from
the Army since 2004. The Army continues to hold Agustin and our family
captive as he is still not discharged. The price we, the
Aguayo family, have paid to oppose this war and
occupation is enormous!
As it stands now, Agustin Aguayo, is a convicted
felon. Finding employment has been difficult, and as of yet,
unsuccessful. Helga's health has deteriorated dramatically as a result
of the stress of fighting the Army and this war. There have been ups
and downs to her health but this current situation has caused a relapse.
Our most difficult battle comes while trying to put the pieces back
together and be a family, again. Most people, don't know but
Helga suffers from constant panic and anxiety
attacks as well as psoriasis (http://www.psoriasis.org/about/psoriasis/guttate.php)
a condition exasperated by stress which at times has covered her skin
90+%. She has even experienced an aggressive form of Psoriasis (http://www.psoriasis.org/about/psoriasis/pustular.php)
that can be potentially life threatening and has for her in the past.
Agustin too, has anxiety attacks, and we now know and recognize that
Agustin has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. To admit all of this
publicly is difficult but necessary and ultimately liberating.
Throughout this ordeal, our daughters Raquel and
Rebecca have been strong and fought side by side with us, with poise and
courage. We are sad to say, that this has taken a huge toll on them.
Sadly, Raquel and Rebecca are in crisis and we are seeking help for them
in many ways.
After everything they have been thru how can they not be in crisis?!? *
After dealing with a year long deployment and not knowing if their
father was safe for a year. * AND also see their friends' fathers die.
* AND live on a military base in Germany away from friends, family, and
support. * AND to go to a military school for over 3 years and be
subjected to military objectives, values, and lifestyle. * AND see
their mother's health deteriorate throughout the stressful ordeal. *
AND to see with their own eyes and live thru, the military persecute AND
prosecute their father and family to the point of seeing their father
dragged away to prison, be convicted and labeled a felon AND live
without him for ANOTHER 7 months while he was in prison. * AND come
back to the US to start over again and get back to life, business as
usual. * AND see BOTH their parents work thru anxiety and panic. We ask
you, how can they function and not be in crisis?!?
We put this out their as concerned parents who want to help their
children to please send our girls your positive energy, thoughts and
prayers. We urge to take a few minutes of your day and act NOW and do
something simple for our girls. PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO WRITE THEM EACH
A LETTER. Raquel and Rebecca want to receive letters of support and we
believe it would be very healing for them to receive acknowledgment of
their pain, to receive a letter. It could be something as simple as:
Dear Rebecca/Raquel:
I am sorry you are sad. I think you are very brave. I think you are a
strong person. I just wanted to say I am thinking of you today and hope
you have a great day today. Things will get better. You have my
support!
We ask the peace community, that has never failed us, to please send an
individual letter to each of our girls. Please help our girls heal and
let them know they have your support as well!
The girls have expressed the desire to hear from you and especially any
other children. They are eager to hear from anyone willing to write to
them. WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME!
Please write to:
Raquel E. Aguayo
38271 Mariner Court
Palmdale, CA 93552
Rebecca S. Aguayo
38271 Mariner Court
Palmdale, CA 93552
We all want to stop this war. We all want to honor the heroes that
refuse to fight, those that march the streets, and those that create
dialogue about this war. But, we often forget the unsung heroes that are
hurt the most in this tragedy ... the children. The children are the
most affected by this war. I ask you to think of them.
Many conscientious objectors and war resisters have family and
children: Pablo Paredes, Camilo Mejia, Kevin Benderman, to mention a
few. Please reach out to them. Please reach out to the Iraqi children (http://www.nomorevictims.org/)
. Please do something for the children targeted to fight this war (http://www.arlingtonwestfilm.com/donate.php).
Please do something for the children -- past, present, future --
affected by this war. They too, have paid or will pay a price --
unwillingly. We thank you for your time!
Helga P. Aguayo &
Agustin Aguayo
To read more about our ordeal go to: http://www.aguayodefense.org
To
donate to the Aguayo Family Fund
http://aguayodefense.org/Donate.html
Mail to: aguayodefense@aol.com